User blog:DarkSerpentes/The Battle of Hong Kong - disasterous tactics at work
Hello there and welcome to Second Episode of Newman's Pacific Rim Blog. Today we'll discuss the tactics employed during the disasterous battle of Hong Kong. Was it a bad tactic? Were the Kaiju just too strong? Could this disaster be avoided? Those are questions I'd like this blog entry to answer. First - lets start with analysis of tactic we've seen in the movie. Marshall Stacker Pentecost - decides to send Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon to guard the Miracle Mile with Striker Eureka guarding the coastline "just in case". The reasoning given is that Striker is far too important to risk him in this battle - it needs to be fully operational for the Assault Mission. What did Stacker know at this point? He knows that Kaiju are bioengineered weapons and not just wild animals, he knows that alien intelligence is sending Kaiju to our side and - seeing as Jaeger casualities are growing in numbers - those aliens might be in some way aware of Jaegers and/or are getting better in making stronger Kaiju. It is also noted Laetherback and Otachi are "biggest yet" which should indicate there might be trouble dealing with them. The Double Event by itself confirms Gottlieb's theory - meaning that next time we might expect Tripple Event. Now the tactics itself - placing 2 Jaegers as the front line against 2 Kaiju seems to be a neutral idea - this way noone has an advantage. And this is our first mistake - Stacker willingly decides not to use an advantage in numbers they had at this time and risks both "Escort Jaegers". How this situation could unfold? 1) Both Kaiju attack at once creating 2vs2 battle or two 1vs1 battles with Striker Eureka too far to assist. This means in case of one Jaeger losing second one will find itself fighting 2 Kaijus alone - exactly as we've seen it in the movie. This in turn might put Striker at disadvantage where it faces 2 Kaiju at once - exactly as what we've seen. 2) Kaiju attack is not coordinated - while one engages two "Escort Jaegers" second one splits and goes for the city and only Striker Eureka is capable of intercepting it. While in this turn of events Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon have an advantage in numbers Striker is fighting 1vs1 which is a situation Stacker wanted to avoid and this leads me to... Idea of making Striker Eureka stand back and guard the coast line - it makes no sense at all. Deploying Striker that far away from the front line means that if something goes wrong it won't be able to provide any help in time. Secondly if it is SO important why deploy it at all? The answer to second question is simple - if Cherno and Crimson fail Striker has to fight disregarding the risk. Now what about future? As I've mentioned above Gottlieb's theory at this point is as good as confirmed and Stacker should be expecting Tripple Event to follow - at this point (with Gipsy Danger pilot's failure) risking even one Jaeger will put them at disadvantage in numbers next time around. At this point protecting Striker is no longer priority - on the other hand willingly withdrawing your strongest unit from battle is unacceptable risk. My opinion on this tactic: Hollywood only. What could have been? Were all 3 Jaegers to be deployed at the Miracle Mile with Striker ordered "not to engage alone unless it is unavoidable". With this set up the Jaegers have an advantage in numbers - in case of both Kaiju attacking it's 3 vs 2 with Striker able to com to Crimson's or Cherno's aid if the situation calls for it. In case on Kaiju splits and goes for the city we'd get 2 3vs1 crub-stomp battles. And hey! Why not deploy Gipsy Danger at the coast "just in case" one Kaiju goes for the city? With this setting GD is too far to be a threat for other Jaegers and best case scenario it's pilots succeed in this battle-test proving they're ready for the Breach Assault. Category:Blog posts